


By The Way (I Tried to Say Not to Eat That)

by TheYellowTurtle



Series: ZKDD 2020 [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambassador Katara, F/M, Fire Nation Cuisine, Fluff, No Beta We Just Cry, Turtleduck(s), Zuko Gardening, Zutara Drabble December 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28354962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheYellowTurtle/pseuds/TheYellowTurtle
Summary: Zuko really, really likes spicy food.(Day 27: Don't Worry)
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: ZKDD 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076558
Kudos: 39
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	By The Way (I Tried to Say Not to Eat That)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a bit late to the party, but I'm glad I can contribute something to ZK Drabble December :) This is for Day 27: Don't Worry~
> 
> Title is from "By the Way" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I blame my dad. And my love for puns.
> 
> CW: Zuko being Stressed

For as long as history has been recorded, the Fire Nation archipelago has been known for its spicy cuisine. Believed to be good for chi flow, Fire Nation people till this day will consume chili peppers by the bucketload. Many think that spice is the most invigorating of the flavors, and thus it is not uncommon to find a bowl of plain chili peppers on the table for every meal. Even if someone does not partake in the peppers, the rest of the food will certainly give them their fair share of spice. 

It is undeniable that a high tolerance for spice is a source of national pride in the Fire Nation. However, despite their pride in being able to handle spice, there is one place that even Fire Nation citizens will request a mild dish: Ember Island. 

The average Fire Nation citizen likes to claim that they do not fear spicy food. In Ember Island, they say that they fear non-spicy food. If the aroma of a dish fails to make your eyes water, then the dish is bland. Wielding the locally cultivated Sishen Pepper, the Ember Islanders never fail in weeding out who is not a local. 

This is the place that Princess Ursa called her hometown, and it is this Ember Island heritage that undoubtedly gave birth to Zuko’s own insatiable appetite for spicy food. 

___

Let it be said that Zuko never started to breed his own peppers with malicious intentions. He was well aware that his spice tolerance far succeeded that of the average Fire Nation citizen, let alone the foreign dignitaries that frequented the palace halls. He would willingly and gracefully suffer through the bland food that his guests preferred if it meant protecting world peace. 

No, Zuko’s interest in growing peppers began a year or so after becoming Fire Lord. As one might expect, governing a country after a hundred years of war was a daunting task. An exhausting and stress-inducing task. It was during long nights in his study that Zuko discovered one way to cope with his new position: Sishen Peppers. Lots of Sishen Peppers. 

Zuko had always loved to eat them with his mother as a boy, and now as Fire Lord he found himself snacking on them at every opportunity. The spiciness of the pepper never failed to reinvigorate him, and made it much easier to focus on the work that still had to be done. Besides daily firebending training, meditation and writing to his friends, eating peppers was one of the few ways that Zuko managed to curb his stress levels. 

The thing was, though, being Fire Lord was extremely stressful. And if you ate spicy peppers enough, you would eventually become immune to the spiciness of said peppers. This was the predicament that Zuko found himself in shortly after taking the throne. 

The solution? Breed peppers that were even spicier. 

With words of encouragement from Uncle Iroh, Zuko slowly began to invest himself in the world of crossbreeding pepper plants. It’s a rocky start, but after a few years Zuko managed at last to produce a tiny, bright red pepper covered in blisters that he was proud to call his own. It was a pepper so spicy that even the Ember Island Representative had balked at Zuko’s offer of having a second bite. 

Except for Zuko, the turtleducks were the only other beings willing to partake in the new breed of pepper. Turtleducks being incapable of tasting spice probably had something to do with this. Nonetheless, he decided to name the variety of pepper after his favorite animal. 

In hindsight, calling it the Turtleduck Pepper was probably not the best choice. 

___

As the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador to the Fire Nation, Katara was very familiar with the spicy cuisine of the country. Although she initially possessed the spice tolerance of an average Fire Nation toddler, her palette had come a long way. After a few years of spending her summers in the country, she could now easily enjoy the offerings of Caldera City. To her immense pleasure, even her fellow Southerners —her embassy coworkers and their families— began to use the local flavors in their own cuisine. It was heartwarming to see that chilipaprika seal jerky and ginlic chili stewed sea prunes had become beloved by Water Tribe and Fire Nation people alike. 

Yes, Katara had developed an appreciation for spicy food. However, she was nowhere near the level of her boyfriend, Zuko. Unfortunately, she was greatly reminded of this fact one day when they were feeding the turtleducks in his private garden. 

Katara blames herself. She really does. If she hadn’t been so caught up in staring at Zuko’s gorgeous smile, then she wouldn’t have gotten herself into this situation. However, Katara was only human and Zuko always looked so content when he was feeding the turtleducks and he always had the gentlest smile on his face and he just looked so beautiful and her brain just kind of disconnected from reality as she realized once again just how much in love with him she was and—

Instead of taking a bite of one of the blue bell peppers Zuko had personally cultivated for her, Katara took a bite of one of the Turtleduck Peppers. 

The effects were pretty instantaneous. Katara knew she wasn’t dying, but between the coughing, the runny nose, the wet eyes, and the intense burning in her mouth; it sure felt like it. 

“Katara! Agni! Are you okay?!” Zuko screeched while taking out a handkerchief to dab at her face. “What happened?!” 

“The— The peppers! The Turtleduck Peppers!” Katara managed to croak out between coughs, and pointed to the half-eaten culprit on the ground. 

Zuko muttered a few curses before handing her some hippo cow milk. “Drink that, it will make you feel better,” he explained as he rubbed up and down her back. 

It took chugging down about another two bottles of the milk before Katara could feel her tongue again. 

“Do you feel better now? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left the Turtleduck Peppers near y—”

“Zuko,” Katara interrupted, “Don’t worry, I feel a lot better now! And it’s not your fault. I should have been paying more attention instead of staring at you— instead of staring at the turtleducks!” 

Zuko froze for a moment before getting a sly look on his face. “You were staring at me?” 

“Yes,” Katara admitted with a grumble, dabbing at her wet eyes. “Of course I was looking at you. I love watching you do the things you’re passionate about. You just get this look on your face, and… La! It just reminds me of how much I love you.” 

His response was to cup her cheeks and press a quick kiss to her lips, “I love you, too.” 

“I know,” she smiled. 

**Author's Note:**

> People having bowls of plain chili peppers on the table for eating was inspired by when I lived in Yunnan, China. This isn't something you would necessarily see in someone's home, but it was common to find in restaurants. Generally speaking, Southern Chinese people take their spicy food very seriously. 
> 
> The bit about Ember Islanders being afraid of non-spicy food is inspired by a Chinese saying. It basically goes 'Sichuan people do not fear spice... Guizhou people fear eating food that is not spicy.' (四川人不怕辣 ... 贵州人怕不辣) 
> 
> Zuko's hobby of growing peppers was inspired by this guy [[x].](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uNpjqH-mQQ&ab_channel=WIRED) He's the current world record holder for the hottest pepper, the Carolina Reaper. 
> 
> The name for the Ember Island pepper, the Sishen Pepper, was inspired by the Carolina Reaper. Sishen means death god (死神) in Chinese, and is basically the equivalent of saying reaper. Fun Fact: 死神 is also the Chinese name for the anime Bleach lololol (those characters are the kanji for shinagami). 
> 
> Turtleducks not being able to taste capsaicin & enjoying spicy food is based on chickens. From my understanding, turtles and ducks also cannot taste capsaicin, but it is not recommended for you to feed them spicy food. 
> 
> I haven't really seen it mentioned in a lot of zutara fanfics, but I like to headcanon that other Southerners would follow Katara to the Fire Nation and help run a SWT embassy. I also just love the idea of the SWT and FN influencing each other's food.
> 
> Ginlik is ginger and garlic. I got chillipaprika from the-peregrine on tumblr. It was inspired by this cute drabble she posted about zutara's family spending time together in the SWT [[x].](https://the-peregrine.tumblr.com/post/638556414999199744/sun-of-the-south)


End file.
